Help me Richie
by SultrySphynx
Summary: Eddie is kidnapped by It and taken to the sewers, without his medication he realises that real monsters live at home and not in the sewers. Can Richie save him in time or will the clown take Eddie? Trigger warning: Emotional abuse and disturbing themes. I'm also kind of shipping Eddie and Richie in this fiction. To be continued. I am also having issues with formatting, so sorry
1. Chapter 1

IT

If It had a member of the loser club It enjoyed tormenting the most, that child would be Eddie. The boy was very highly strung, with a very anxious temperament and as soon as the boy had reacted the way he had when It had disguised Itself as a Leper the demon decided It quite enjoyed tormenting Eddie for the reactions. The boy was emotive, jumpy and fearful and of all the times It had the boy in Its clutches the boy had expressed so much beautiful fear. Sure Billy boy was fun to torment too, the boys façade would melt as soon as It took the form of his younger brother, Georgie. Poor sweet little Georgie who must have been taught about predators but was unable to recognise them and regardless if he had ran away that night, It would have claimed him.

It was a predator, in fact the word "predator" didn't even come close to describing the entity, and now It was hiding behind Eddies cupboard, the boy was delightful and would make a great lure to trap the rest of the group. It had followed the group here, the boy copped an angry tirade from his mother when he arrived home, his friends copped the blame for Eddie breaking his arm. Little did she know that It was responsible for breaking poor little Eddies arm, appearing as a leper behind Eddie and causing the boy to faint into a gap in the ceiling, breaking his arm on the table on the way down. The entity relished in the pain of the boy as well as the pain of the friends who blamed themselves for Eddies injuries.

It wanted to really relish in Eddies torment, approaching him as slowly as possible, causing the boy emotional and psychological pain as he did so and the way the boy had cried, beautiful delicious tears of fear. The boy had even tried to slap him, a hilarious and cute attempt considering he never stood a chance. Now It waited for Eddie to let his guard down, his mother had locked him in the room unaware of how easily she was going to put her soon in Its grip.

* * *

Eddie

Eddie could only sit on his bed and cry, he needed his friends more than ever, his mother had lectured him and made him cry, guilt tripping him for the death of his father, somehow him breaking his arm years after his father passed away made him responsible for the death of his father.

Who knew?

Eddie thought to himself, his mother had locked him in his room as punishment and to "think about" what he had done and all this did was cause the boy to feel like a caged animal. He knew instinctively that his mother was emotionally abusive, had been psychologically abusing him his entire life really, it was all he knew. His arm really hurt, he didn't think he was going to sleep tonight because the trauma from only a few hours ago was still fresh in his mind.

"The only person I want right now is Richie, the way he held my face before... It was nice.. Why does he touch me like that? Why does he tease me the way he does, he's a little shit but he doesn't tease others as much as he teases me." He thought out loud, unaware of the fact that It was in his closet.

He remembered as the clown slowly advanced on him, the leper, breaking his arm, the clown in his face, drooling over him, laughing at him, mocking his crying and opening that horrible mouth to reveal shark like fangs, glowing yellow lights at the back of Its jaw. How was this thing even alive? This creature didn't exist to Eddie a few years ago, so how does it exist now?

Eddie was lost in his thoughts when he heard a POP noise come from his cupboard, he wheezed. He was feeling hyper vigilant after the events at Neibolt house and he really didn't want to think about the possibility that the clown was in his room. His blood turned to ice when he heard that familiar chuckle come from behind his cupboard, the cupboard door opened to reveal the clown, standing there and grinning at Eddie.

"Hello Eds" the clown said quietly, Its eyes not leaving Eddies. Eddie sprinted for the door, his asthma coming on, or was it a panic attack? He really wasn't sure any more, he just knew that the clown was going to kill him and he had to get the fuck out of there, and depending on how long the clown was there for, It may have heard some personal information about him that could be used against him, his friends, Richie... He couldn't breathe as the tall clown grinned at him, revealing those horrible teeth,

Eddie screamed at the top of his lungs, banging on the door. Why did she had to lock the door!? His medication and puffer was on the other side, she was in possession of his medication and had sent him upstairs as soon as he got home and he expected to be locked up there for another few hours. "Mum!Please!You have to let me out!" She yelled something back and he couldn't make it out but her tone was not nice and she did not open the door, of course, she only loved him when he took his medication as she requested.

I cant breathe... I cant... Fuck... Why did she have to lock the door!?

Eddie spun around, the clown was right in his face, grinning at him as a little drool dripped onto Eddies trousers. "Why are you so scared Eds, I will look after you.. Look at you trying to breathe..." The clown went to pinch Eddies cheek playfully and Eddie found himself trying to hit the clowns hand away. The clowns hand wrapping around Eddies throat, the boy coughed and splattered and blacked out from the fear.

Before Eddie passed out, he saw Richie in his mind. Richie with his big mouth, obnoxious but endearing personality, bright shirts, dark hair and big glasses that framed his face.

* * *

Richie

Richie woke up, it was two in the morning and he woke with a start, he had a dream that Eddie had been taken by the clown and that he had been too late to stop him. Richie ran a hand through his messy hair, his heart rate was through the room and his hair was damp by the sweat induced by his nightmare. Richie reflected on the events that had occurred earlier on the day before. He remembered that horrible house, he didn't even want to go in there and fucking Bill. fucking stuttering Bill had gave some long winded speech about facing the demon. To his surprise Eddie also volunteered to go in, so it was just the three of them going in to hunt down that fucking clown.

He had no idea what they were going to be up against, he wasn't expecting to find a missing photo of himself in a giant spider web that had freaked him the fuck out. He had come across Betty Ripson hanging from the ceiling behind one of the doors that It had left for them in what must have been some kind of sick joke as they searched for Eddie. At one point, that fucking clown had lured him into a room full of clowns (he fucking hates clowns, especially the one who almost killed Eddie) and taunted him with a coffin with maggots crawling over a dead Richie's face. The clown had screamed as It lunged at him and Richie barely scraped out alive. He remembered the acid on the floor coming towards them, how Bill had tried to calm him down and reassure him that none of it was real.

Richie knew damn well that everything was real because he had felt the spider web, he had touched that missing poster, he had felt the clowns in that room and he had closed the coffin lid on the corpse of himself.

It was all real. Everything was real. The clown about to eat Eddie was fucking real, the fact Eddie has broken his arm and now his Mum is holding him hostage again means that everything was real. Fucking hell Bill.

He really didn't want to see Bill again, seriously, fuck that kid for punching him out like that.

He hoped that Eddie would leave his mother one day, Eddie was stronger than he thought he was and Richie knew that he was. The trouble was that Eddie was brought up being told that he was weak, and as a result Eddie came to believe this about himself.

He thought about Eddie, the pain in his eyes, his screams as the clown had come way too close to taking his life and screaming as they searched for him in the house. The feral look of fear on Eddies face, the way he had screamed "do not fucking touch me" prior to Eddie snapping his arm back into place. He felt bad now, especially that he didn't really know that such a movement would cause Eddie even more unnecessary pain and that Eddie did not consent to being touched by Richie, or by that clown. He had touched Eddies face, it was instinctive but he wasn't sure why he felt a warm tingle as he cupped the boys face, for a moment he saw in the boys eyes that he had almost forgot the pain and the fear that he felt, that perhaps it was them both in that moment.

Richie picked up his brick of a phone and called Eddie, the worst thing that could happen was that Eddie would pick up and grumble about him. He wanted to speak to Eddie, to make sure that he was ok.

That was when as Eddie answered, the voice did not actually belong to Eddie and Richie almost vomited when he heard that voice again.

"Beep beep Richie! AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA"

Richie reached for a bucket in his room and hurled, the clowns deafening laughter still ringing in his ears as the worst case scenarios ran through his head.

It has Eddie, It has killed Eddie.

* * *

Eddie

Eddie came to, he came to the conclusion that he was lying in cold dirty water, the smell of the sewer, germs. He recounted his last memory, the clown had been hiding in his room, his mother had locked him in with the clown and now he was here, lying in the gross sewers and on the edge of a panic attack.

Eddie reached for his fanny pack, only to remember that his mother had his medication and his puffer back at home, and he doubted that the clown cared enough about his wellbeing to pick up his medicine for him. His head was spinning as he got up, he was feeling faint, was it possible the water he had been lying in was making him sick?

Eddie stood up, looking around and he gave a yelp as he felt a hand ruffle his hair. It was the clown, the clown was playing with his hair with a rough hand. The gesture didn't seem too cruel until Eddie realized that the clown was rubbing debris from the sewer into his hair and now he wondered what germs were in the sewers.

"Please let me go. I need my medicine. Please. It's really hard to breathe and I probably wont be a good meal if I pick up all these germs."

It was bullshit logic but Eddie had to try. He needed his medication, if it wasn't for his mother locking him in his room he would still have his medicine and not be in this situation, now he wasn't sure he was going to see Richie again.

The clown laughed and shoved Eddie backwards into the cold sewer water and laughed in his face as he flinched. "Don't worry Eds, I'll look after you, you're like a little baby. I need to look after you, don't I?" The clown giggled in his face, Eddie started to cry and the clown started to mock his crying again, as he did in the house in Neibolt street but twice as louder and mocking.

"Waaaaahhh booo hoooo hoooo. Wahhhhhh. Boooo hoooo hoooooo hoooooo" the clown mocked Eddies crying, causing Eddie to cry even harder, trying to push the clown away but the clown just pinched his cheek painfully and mocked him even more. "Booo hooo hooo."

Eddie could only cry, his cries being drowned out by the loud horrible taunting of the clown.

Help me Richie


	2. Chapter 2

Mrs Kaspbrak

She had been watching the television all night, she barely slept as she thought she had successfully ignored the behaviour of her son. She pretended to sob into the tissues heavily and wail. She knew that her tears and her disappointment in her son was always going to lead to him complying with her, as soon as she withdrew her love from him he was her perfect angel. Little did she know that Eddie was gone and that he was not around to listen to her false crying and see her crocodile tears.

She knew she had a problem, that much was sure and she was convinced that it was Eddies fault that she was unable to get help for her issues as she was too busy trying to convince Eddie that he was ill. Her theory was that as soon as Eddie believed that he was healthy, he would leave her and she would be alone. It was eight in the morning, she was planning to let her son out and take him out for a nice breakfast and to get a cast on his arm, on the provision that he will not see his friends again.

"Eddie, I'm sorry but you made me punish you again. Eddie? Are you there?" She unlocked his bedroom door, Eddie was gone. He had ran away from home, although she couldn't understand how he could have survived a fall from a two storey building, his bones were so fragile.

Most likely gone to the house of that loud mouthed brat, Richie.

Mrs Kaspbrak looked through the contents of Eddies school book, where she located the address of his friend, Richie.

Without any further ado, she got into the car and was ready to go off at the bespectacled boy for taking away her precious angel.

* * *

Eddie

Eddie lay sobbing in the shallow waters of the freezing sewers, he had been there for ages now and without food for at least twelve hours and being freezing he wondered if he was going to make it and why he was still clown monster had stayed with him and made fun of him for what seemed like hours, until Eddie begun to shut down which led to the creature losing interest in him. The clown seemed to be gone for all he could tell, yet Eddie could only feel the tightness in his chest, he felt himself wheezing, the smell of the sewer water made him feel ill. His arm hurt, there were dark bruises on his arm where it was broken, it hurt and he sobbed as he cradled it in his good arm. His arm needed attention, if there were tears in his kin there he could get an infection.

He questioned how long he would survive with no medication, was this the clowns plan for him? To weaken him to the point of exhaustion and eat him when he had nothing left? His watch had beeped twice in the last two hours or so, reminding him to take his medication which was at home. Eddie felt confused that the withdrawal from his medication didn't seem to be impacting on him, perhaps it was too early to tell?

"Eddie!" Came Richie's voice from the tunnels, Eddie perked right up.

"Richie! I'm here. I'm ok. My arm is about to fall off and I will probably die if I don't get home soon but oh my god. You're here!'' Eddie couldn't hide his happy tears as his friend skipped over to him and hugged him. "Get me out of here, please Richie."

"Give me a kiss first, cry baby.'' Richie spoke, he said this with a smile but Eddie felt dread now. Though Richie enjoyed teasing Eddie and roasts and jokes were a part of their relationship, Richie would never call Eddie a 'cry baby' as such an insult was a limit to Eddie.

"Richie?" Eddie spoke, taking a step back from his friend. There was a hungry look in Richie's eyes now, a cruel look that looked out of place on Richie's face. "You're not Richie." Eds tried to run in the same direction as 'Richie' had appeared from but being injured and weakened he didn't get too far before the clown pushed him into the water again. Eddie screamed as his broken arm was knocked.

The clown was holding his broken arm now, looking at Eddie intently. The clown was planting big soppy kisses over the bruising on his arm as Eddie sobbed, trying to push the clowns face away with his good arm. "No… Don't please… " Eddie begged, watching in horror as the clown started to playfully nibble on Eddies broken arm, his teeth grinding the swollen muscles and purple bruising, Eddie could only cry and whimper. The fangs appeared then and in spite of himself Eddie found himself screaming for mercy. "NOOOO! PLEEEEEEAAAAASE DON'T!''

The clown laughed and got up, "Oh, Eds. You know I would never hurt you." The clown said in Richie's voice before kicking sewer water all over Eddie, leaving the boy crying harder.

* * *

Richie

Richie was sitting on the porch of his parents house eating breakfast, trying to remember exactly what had happened last night. Had the clown really laughed at him on the over end of what was meant to be Eddies phone? He remembered having a dream about Eddie being taken by the clown monster, he was planning on heading to Eddies again as soon as he finished his breakfast, and hopefully getting past his mother.

To his surprise Mrs Kaspbrak got out of the car and stormed right up to Richie, an inch from his face.

"Where is my son? You little freak!? I know my little boy is in there somewhere and you will not take him from me."

'Your breath smells like shit and you look like a walking chlamydia infection that has been forced into pink spandex' Richie wanted to say but instead he said "I haven't seen Eddie anywhere, I was actually going to visit him today to apologize. By all means, look inside if you want.''

''Stay away from my son you little loud mouthed brat!" She screeched at him before heading into his house. "EDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIEEEEEE! YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE YOUNG MAN! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE! I AM GOING TO SEND YOU TO THE LOONY BIN AFTER THIS!" She screeched again.

Richie put his bowl aside and headed for his bike, eyeing off a route that he knew would be difficult to be followed by car and as soon as he felt safe enough, he couldn't resist saying it. "Geesh, Mrs Kaspbrak, maybe there is a reason your son has ran away from home. You're crazier than an over-sized chihuahua on crack."

Richie savored the open mouthed expression of horror that Mrs Kaspbrak gave him as her face turned red and a vein in her neck looked close to popping.

Richie peddled as if his life depended on it, because he knew that Eddie was definitely missing now. He had to go to Beverly's first, then to Ben's, then to Mike's, then to Stan's and then, god help him, to Bill's. Eddie was missing, and he knew that the stupid clown had him.

* * *

Eddie

Eddie remembered when he turned eight, that he wanted a pet puppy for his birthday. His mother told him that he would most likely get crushed if the dog got too rough and that the dog would be carrying enough fleas to make him sick. She told him that he would never be able to have a pet because that would mean that she didn't love him.

Eddie remembered the time he turned ten, he wanted to go on a school excursion with his classmates in a field trip. His mother had pretended to sign the form, only to throw it out when he was not looking because she told him that he is not allowed to leave Derry.

Eddie remembered the time he was twelve, he received anonymous flowers from someone on Valentines Day. Those flowers meant the world to him at the time as he didn't expect anything on that day, when his mother saw them she screeched at him, warning him of "all of the whores in Derry" and "a kiss from a girl would mean he was dead." When he had asked her if it was ok to kiss a boy she had locked him in his room, for hours.

Eddie was feeling somewhat composed now, his breathing had returned to normal. The sewers still stunk, he was starving and his arm was still bruised and painful but aside from that he actually felt better, in fact. He felt a healthiness and a vitality that he had never felt before, which was strange considering his circumstance.

"Am I dead? Has the clown eaten me? Am I floating?" Eddie asked himself out loud, if this was death, it wasn't too bad.

"Pssst, Girly boy. You still having fun with me? "

"Shut up, bozo." Eddie replied under his breath, he was getting real sick of the clowns shit.

"No more tears? " The clown enquired, literally breathing down Eddies neck. "Well, if I am no longer entertaining you, my little cry baby I am going to have to try harder..."


	3. Chapter 3

Mrs Kaspbrak

'The brats have no idea what they have gotten themselves into', she thinks as she ransacks Eddies room searching for a clue of his disappearance.

She had heard him screaming, but he was a sick child, a very sick child and by isolating him she thought that she was helping him.

'How dare he be so ungrateful and run away from home after all I've done for him. How dare he defy me as he makes his own decisions, doesn't he know that he is a sick boy and that I know best?' She thought to herself furiously. That was when she called the local police to report those brats for stealing her son, Mr Bowers answered the phone.

"Look, lady. This is the tenth time in two years your son has gone missing. My son Henry goes to school with Eddie though our kids don't get on, those kids that you talk about are friends with your son and -"

Mrs Kaspbrak hung up on Mr Bowers in frustration, the whole town were against her. She knew it! They knew of the whereabouts of her son and they were not telling her.

She picked up Eddies favorite cassette tape and scratched it, how dare he run away from home! She was going to punish him and destroy all of his belongings.

Little did she know that as much as Eddie loved her (as abusive as she could be) that he had in fact been taken by a demon clown and that he was slowly coming to the realization that she was the real monster.

* * *

It

The boy had lasted for longer than It had expected, It was surprised that he had not broken yet. It had starved the boy, taken the form of one of his best friends (and possible lover), taunted him and still the boy wasn't giving him the reactions he craved.

It decided that if It wanted those delicious tears, screams of fear and despair, than It would have to escalate and really torture the boy. The boy was breathing heavily, taking four deep breaths in and four deep breaths out, the boy was too calm to devour. In fact, the boy didn't even seem fazed by his situation and may have disassociated enough to forget the danger he was in.

It knew the boy must have been starving and due to the boys small size, It knew the boy was not only weakened, but possibly delirious too. The cold air, the freezing water and the dark sewers would have made the boy more suggestible to certain mind games.

It held a piece of garbage in It's left hand and a chocolate bar in It's right hand, oh how It was going to break the boy. It could manipulate the air to smell like the sugary, sweet food that the boy would be craving and It was going to feed on his reactions. How soon before the boy would lose his mind?

It crept closer to the boy, anticipating the cruel joke It was about to play on the boy and hungry to feed on the boys sweet, tasty tears…

* * *

Eddie

"Hey Crybaby. I brought you a treeeeat. I've gotta get you nice and FAT before I eatcha Eds."

Eddie looked up at the clown, It was holding a small chocolate bar. Eddie was starving and the clown knew it, Eddie didn't the clown and knew that It cared very little for his wellbeing. The clown had a cruel glint in his eyes and though he could smell delicious food he knew he had to have his wits about him. Something wasn't right.

"I'm not hungry." Eddie shrugged, turning away from the clown until he felt the clown grab his bruised and broken arm. "Ow! No. Let me go!"

"You are going to eat something Eds. Do you want a chocolate bar? Can you guess which hand I have the chocolate bar in?" The clown giggled at Eddies pain and obvious distress. Eddie was feisty for a "crybaby" It had to give him that as Eddie tried to punch the clown with his little fists.

"I don't want to play this stupid game, I want to go home." Eddie started sobbing. He wasn't feeling as strong as he was five minutes ago. The clown knew how to get under his skin, mess with his head and hurt him.

"You're going to play this game with me or it will cost you two arms and one leg. AHAHAHHAHAHAHAA!" The clowns sudden evil laughter sent shock waves through Eddie, he was gambling with a mad man.

"Fine. Left hand?" To his horror the clown pulled out a piece of garbage and threw it towards his face. Eddie ducked, cursing at the clown who now held the chocolate bar over his head.

"Get it Eddie… Cmon, Get it…. Eddie… FETCH!" The clown threw the chocolate bar across the room and into the cistern, it was no good to him and Eddie had to fight back tears. He did not want to give the clown the satisfaction.

"Mum said chocolate is bad for my teeth." Eddie shrugged, trying to act disinterested in the cruel antics of the clown. 'Mum also tells me that I am sick, and I don't think anything this bozo does to me quite measures up to what Mum has done to me my whole life.' He thought glumly.

He thought he heard his friends then, in the distance. Splashes, screams and the sound of Richie yelling something about killing that fucking clown. He didn't know for sure though, it was probably another of the clowns tricks. Eddie felt a piece of glass at his foot, it was sharp. He was about to do something extremely stupid, but he had to get himself out in case it was another joke. "Hey, Pennywise. Want to know a joke? Come closer and I will tell you."

"Of course, Pennywise loves jokes from It's Crybaby Girly Boy." It crooned, leaning forwards to allow Eddie to whisper, clearly underestimating the boy.

"Fucking stop calling me that you fuck head!" Eddie barked as loudly as his small voice could allow, the screams of the clown filling up the cavern.

It was then he felt bruising fingers digging into his good arm, the clown laughing maniacally into his ear.

'Richie… Please… Where are you?' Eddie thought as the clowns heavy hand covered his mouth and nose, almost causing him to pass out. The corners of his vision faded and Eddie realized he was losing consciousness, only he was out cold before he could get away.

* * *

The Losers Club

They had reached the sewers, the losers club were all together now and knew that had to rescue the smallest member of their group. As anticipated, the clown was expecting them and the group found themselves pushing through illusions of dead children, zombies and sights of their friend bleeding out in the water. The clowns efforts told them that It was scared and that Eddie may still be alive.

"Oh my GOD! Eddie!" Richie screamed first at the sight. The clown was hovering over Eddies small frame, one leg pressing into Eddies small waist as the monster had already got to work with his good arm. There were lacerations in Eddies good arm and the boys eyes were rolling to the back of his head, the boy was exhausted and unable to stop what was happening to him.

"Let him go you arse hole!" Beverly shrieked as she swung a baseball bat across the back of the clowns head, causing It to fall off Eddie.

"You're fucking dead clown! Ronald McDonald is going to kick your arse in hell for giving clowns a bad name!" Stan shouted, the outburst from the usually conservative and mild mannered boy made the rest of the Losers Club chuckle and this made Stan angrier. "Go fornicate yourself on a cactus you fucking scum!"

That seemed to do it, It was now looking at Stan in shock. The boys insults were too much for the clown to process. The clown retreated, into the well that led to an even darker abyss that no one dared to follow.

"Sweet dreams kids." The clown jeered one last time as he jumped into the well, It's insane laughter echoed in the large area until the noise begun to grow faint. This wasn't over yet, but they had more important priorities right now, Eddie.

"Eddie…. Eddie… Please. It's us. " Richie pleaded, the boy was in shock, pale. The smaller boys hand went to swipe Richie and it was obvious that Eddie was hallucinating, shock and pain will do that. "Eddie, you are lying in the sewers, your mum is fucking nuts, we love you, you need food and we are taking your arse to the hospital."

"..Richie?" Was all Eddie could manage before he passed out, the rhythm of his friends footsteps carrying him out of the sewers lulling him into a deep sleep. He was happy and safe, at least for now, in the arms of his love.


	4. Chapter 4

**Losers**

"We are going to have to notify Edward Kaspbrak's mother, why didn't you tell her? Shes his mother. We need to bring her in." The nurse told the children as they hovered over their unconscious friend. "How did he get injured? He's only a child. Did you see what happened to him?'' It was unfortunate that It had managed to injure both of Eddies arms. His broken arm had dark bruising and what looked like human teeth marks, the clown must have been using some type of pain compliance on Eddie by pressing into his dark bruises and broken bones to either control Eddie or scare him. What was meant to be his good arm was now covered in deep lacerations, these bite marks looked as if they could have been done by a feral animal. The children doubted that the nurse would believe the truth, most of the adults of Derry were ignorant and quick to turn their back on any violent incident.

"We think he was attacked by a rabid dog, we found him like this by the sewers. Please Miss, we can not send Eddie to his home. His mother, she's unstable." Mike tried, the nurse already eyeing him suspiciously and Mike faltered when he decided the nurse was intolerant towards his skin colour. Not only was Derry a place were children went missing, Derry was a place where casual racism occurred everyday.

The nurse completely ignored Mike, and the children decided it was due to his skin colour. The children watched as Mike begun to shut down and decided they were not having it.

"What happened to him?" The nurse asked again, pretending that she didn't hear Mikes explanation.

It was Richie who spoke next, "Oh you know, he was playing by the sewers and he wanted to go find some remainders of racist nurses like you." Richie was beaming as the nurse begun to go red in the face.

"Beep beep Richie." Came Bills voice, Mikes explanation had been ignored and Richie's comment to the nurse was not well received and the children knew that Bill, Stan, Ben and Beverly were most likely the voice of reason in the group, as well as Eddie who was currently unconscious.

"Our friend was playing near the sewers, we think his pet may have went missing. Perhaps he chased his pet there trying to find it. As Mike said, we think that a rabid dog must have got him."

"...Uh huh." The nurse was eyeing them suspiciously, her eyes glancing condescendingly over her glasses. She looked at Beverly now. "What are you doing with all of these boys? I've heard things about you."

Beverly started to go a bright pink and it was Ben who stuck up for her this time. "Excuse me Mrs …Eakins, it is not in your job description to comment on things which are outside of your profession."

Mrs Eakins turned to Ben now, "You are overweight, child." Typical low blow, this nurse could at least pretend to be ashamed for acting like such a bitch and the children wondered how she was still in her job.

"Please leave us alone. I don't think we are going to get on and if you're so stressed you might need to tell your boss." Stan tried, he knew the situation was escalating and he was the stoic one, he would be surprised if she had even noticed him.

"Really? You're responsible for our friend here? Take that wasabi coated broomstick out of your arse lady. You need to reevaluate your life choices. You might hate it here and that is not our fault. Now, please do us a favor and resign and send in a much nicer nurse!" Richie bellowed, shocking the other children with his outburst, his scream got the attention of a few other nurses patrolling the other area.

"Is everything ok here?" A younger male nurse appeared, he had a crooked smile that reached his eyes. He looked at the children, there were six distraught looking children. Tears in the eyes of Ben, Bev and Mike especially, Stan looked annoyed, Richie and Bill looked agitated.

"No. Please ask this nurse to leave. She's upset us all and we don't need this, our friend..He isn't doing so well." Stan spoke, considering this male nurse to have a much friendlier face. Stan wondered for a minute if this could be Pennywise in disguise, but if the other nurse could see him, he doubted it.

"Mrs Eakins, please go home now. You've been here for twelve hours, you've done your duties for the day and I think you need rest. I will take this child into my care instead." Mrs Eakins shot the children one last glare before she skulked off, if the children could read each others minds they would have collectively come to the conclusion that the woman was either a horrible lady or Pennywise in disguise. "I'm sorry about her, her tiredness is no excuse for her poor behavior. I'm Frank, I will be looking after Eddie now. Now, what can I do to make things better for Eddie here?"

"He was attacked, by… a thing." Something about the nurses warm honey eyes and concerned expression led Richie to feel that he would be more open to the children. "It.. It held him hostage in the sewers, we had to get him out. He broke his arm a few days ago, and the ..thing that was holding him hostage, it made the injury worse. It must have bitten his other arm, too."

"It's ok if it's hard for you to talk about. Is there anything I can do right now. You kids want anything? Ice cream? The hospital is closed to the public in two hours, but, I will allow three of you to stay here with Eddie. He must have went through something horrible, you all seem like good kids. He must be a really good friend to you."

The nurses words were like a warm embrace compared to the unkind and blaming words of the previous nurse, if it wasn't for Richie's outburst they would be stuck with the mean nurse. "I'll stay, Stan, you too and possibly Bill too." Richie said, the four had always been inseparable.

"Does his mother know? You're all so young. Who will be paying for his hospital visit? He hasn't got insurance by any chance does he?''

"Not sure. We'll pay for it if we have to. Please don't bring in Eddies mum, she… She's abusive to Eddie, Please, Eddie wouldn't want to go home to her." Beverly spoke now. "Thanks, you're a lot nicer than most of the adults that we are used to.''

Frank smiled,"I'm going to dress that wound. Surprised Mrs Eakins hasn't done that yet. This will cool it down for Eddie here. I'm going to put his other arm in a cast. Did you see how it got so bruised? What happened to this boy. You can tell me, weird things happen in this town…"

"...There's this clown. It's name is Pennywise, we don't know of it's gender or true appearance. We just know it takes the form of whatever you fear. It took my brother, Georgie. It took Eddie recently and tried to take him from us too. " Bill blurted it out, the nurse seemed understanding enough, almost to the point nothing would faze him.

Recognition fell across Franks face. "You know, I saw It too. Twenty years ago, in passing. I passed the Neibolt house and It was watching me. I told others at the time, no one believed me. Kids have disappeared from around here, sometimes I think It still comes for me. I'm sorry that It took your brother and I am sorry that It has hurt Eddie here." Frank spoke softly as he checked Eddies breathing and heart-rate, dropping a small amount of water over his lips and applying a balm. "He's going to make it, he's exhausted and dehydrated but he's very healthy. He's going to need TLC for his arms, though I know you'll be able to do that for him."

"Thanks Frank. Are you working later in the night? Feel free to visit us." Stan spoke, the rest of the kids weren't sure whether he was asking as a safety precaution or to know more about Franks experience with It. Frank smiled and left the room. With that, Ben, Bev and Mike followed Frank out, with one last look at Eddie.

 **Trauma**

 _'The clown was looming over him,_

 _It's vile drool was dripping onto his face,_

 _He couldn't breathe, couldn't move_

 _The clowns putrid breath in his face_

 _Razor sharp teeth inches from his face._

 _He tried to scream, he couldn't,_

 _The clown was choking him,_

 _Pressing into his broken arm,_

 _It's teeth clamping into his other arm_

 _"Eddie, you're my little crybaby.'_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Eddies petrified scream startled Stan, Bill and Richie wide awake with his screaming. It was two in the morning and Eddie was suddenly wide awake after a night terror.

Eddie tried to throw punches, he screamed even louder when he ruptured his broken arm, still reaching for his inhaler out of habit. He was screaming, his bloodcurdling screams were likely to wake up the entire hospital.

Richie turned on the light to calm Eddie down. "Eddie. Eddie. You're safe. You're in hospital… Nurse is really nice. We are allowed to stay here with you.. Careful, you're injured. Eddie…" The tears were rolling down Eddies face, the boys eyes darting around the room in fear, his tiny body heaving, hyperventilating.

"Eds… You're ok. Breathe. Ok, breathe with us. " Stan and Bill held Eddies little fingers on either side. Richie by the door, in Eddies sight. "You're not in the sewers anymore. Here, the Nurse has water for you. Drink it. We can get you some food and a nice warm drink. Eds, you're safe."

Eddie appeared to be breathing normally again, he had recovered really fast from his night terror. "I thought I was dead… The clown,… He was eating me. I was there for days, I thought he was going to kill me." Eddie sat upright in his bed now, the boys consoling him as they hugged the smaller boy.

"Eds, no one has signed your cast. Want me to?" Richie picked up a marker that was lying on the table.

"I love you Eds, you're a little survivor." The cast read in Richie's handwriting.

Bill and Stan signed Eddies cast too, not questioning why Richie had expressed his love for Eds on the cast, as long as Eddie was happy they were happy.

Eddie jumped as Frank suddenly ran into the room, they boys eyes wide with fear. "Eddie.. Eddie I'm sorry. I'm your nurse, Frank. Are you alright? Need a nice warm drink? Good on you boys, you've got some good friends Eddie. " Franks eyes moved to the cast, he smiled as he saw that the boys had signed Eddies cast.

"I had a nightmare that the…. er…um. Never mind." Eddies voice trailed off.

"He knows about the dickhead clown Eds. " Richie said.

"You might have some post traumatic stress Eds, you will receive help with your trauma while you are here. I know it seems like it is real, I want you to know that there is help out there for it and that if you don't recover from your trauma, you will at least be able to treat it. "Frank was operating the self serve machine outside of the room as he spoke, he returned with a warm cup of Milo. The children realized that he brought it for Eds himself. "I have post traumatic stress disorder too, got it when I was your age. I still haven't recovered, but I'm better. I'll leave you to it. But first.." Frank signed Eddies cast, "Fighter" it read. He left.

"So, what did you do to the clown to earn another injured arm? I bet you got him good."

"Shut up Richie. " Eddie couldn't hide his smile. "He was teasing me for days, trying to make me cry. So I told him a joke and shoved a piece of glass through his fucking head." Eds felt proud when Bill, Stan and Richie burst into laughter. Eds was probably one of the least aggressive members of the group and whatever that clown did to deserve that was justified.

"Ahhh, there's the Eds we know and love." Richie couldn't help but to be proud for getting a smile out of the boy. "Eddie Spaghetti, do you know what I've missed?"

"No." Eds answered warily, he knew that his friend was always going to say something stupid.

"Your mums porn collection."

"Shut up Richie!" Eds hissed and then the four boys burst into laughter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Confrontation**

The morning came and Eddie woke up with Richie curled up beside him on the hospital bed, Richie was careful to be lying on Eddies "better" arm which was now stitched up with the wounds being treated. Eddie had slept so peacefully next to Richie, Eddie didn't want to go back to bed, but with Richie holding him and petting him, he drifted off to sleep.

"What did It do to you?" Richie asked out of concern, last time he had seen Eddies arm it was bruised from being broken, however, the dark purple, brown and blue patches made Richie feel physically sick that It had done something particularly cruel to Eds to delay the healing process. As well as inflicting pain on his broken arm, the clown had also caused a new injury to what was previously Eddies "good arm" and considering Eddie had woken up screaming last night, Richie wondered what psychological injuries Eddie had.

"It kept roughing me up, knocking me to the sewers, kicking cold dirty water over me and then it started chewing on my arm and it really hurt. It was biting my bruises on my broken arm and it really hurt. I don't know if I will get an infection because of how It treated me. I thought I was going to be sick, but I realized that the medication I should have been taking was a gazebo all along. Mum has lied to me this whole time Richie.'' Eddie whispered. Eddie chose to withhold the fact that It took Richie's form as a way to get into his head to taunt him further.

"We've told the nurse that you don't want to see her. He's really nice isn't he? He said that he saw It when he was younger, he believed us." Richie wasn't sure to press Eddie too much about his trauma, worried that it would be too much for him and Eddie was probably starving.

"Yeah. He seems really nice, I wonder what happened to him?" Eddie questioned, remembering how kind the nurse was to him, going to the effort to buy him a Milo from the vending machine outside of his room. "Fuck, Mum is going to kill me Richie. I cant pay for all of this…."

"That's alright Eddie… Somehow we will." Something about the wide look of innocence in Eddies soft brown eyes was too much for Richie. The smaller boy was looking at him, a soft smile on his face, his pupils dilated, Richie could smell the Milo on his breath. "Eddie…." Richie kissed him then, very sweetly, Eddie made a soft whimper as he kissed him back, being unable to move his arms but his happy sigh told Richie that he was enjoying the kiss. "I love you Eddie, more than a friend. I think I like you way more than a friend."

"Oh shit, Mum is really going to kill me now." Eddie couldn't help joking and the boy giggled quietly.

"EDDIE! YOU ARE COMING HOME RIGHT NOW!" As if on cue Mrs Kaspbrak rounded the corner, Bill and Stan had snapped awake and Richie was still lying beside Eddie which was going to lead to another homophobic tangent. Richie didn't move, why not drive it home that he loved her son and that she had a problem?

"Mum. I am not going home with you. You've been giving me these gazebos all of my life and they are fucking bullshit." Eddie spoke before any of the other boys could and he kissed Richie on the forehead to really drive that home. He did not see Richie reach for the assistance button on the side of his bed, Frank had to be on shift soon. "How did you know I was here?"

"That lovely lady, Mrs Eakins informed me that you were here. You are in so much trouble, you are not seeing these horrible kids again. When you are home, you are grounded and I am taking you home now. Who wrote these horrible messages on your cast? You're hideous Eddie. You're sick."

"Fuck off you old hag." The words from the usually stoic Stan shocked all of the boys, "Eddie doesn't want to see you, just go. Go get help. You are the one who is sick."

Richie, Bill and Stan looked for signs of distress on Eddies face, surprisingly they saw none. Eddie was bolder than they remembered him to be as he stared at his mother face with a glare that surprised them. "I am asking you to leave, right now. I have just spent the last few days in a fucking sewer at the mercy of this sick fuck who was physically and psychologically torturing me. What that sick fuck did to me, it doesn't matter, I am untouchable because nothing It did to me will never hurt as much as you hurt me.''

The next few minutes were in deadly silence, it was a rare moment to see Eddie stand up to his mother and to call her out on her abuse.

A single tear appeared in Eddies eye now, "Go Mum. I want to love you, and you tell me I am sick. I have a boyfriend now and you wont accept him. You wont accept me. Go home Mum. Get help." Eddie couldn't help his voice from breaking on the last sentence, it was the hardest for him to say.

Watching his mother become visibly upset in front of him always caused him great anxiety, because it meant that he was a bad son, that he was hurting her. He was furious at her, but he loved her despite the pain. "You are in so much trouble. I am going to make sure you are never going to see my sick boy again." She vowed as she begun to appear more unstable, her face becoming red, she started to scratch at her arms in order to self harm to manipulate Eddie.

"Mum please…Stop hurting yourself… Go. Go home. Go get help. Look after yourself." Eddie sobbed.

"Is everything ok here?" Frank appeared, he had dark circles under his eyes from his twelve hour shift coming to an end but seemed determined to check on Eddie. Frank had to admit, he saw his younger self in Eddie, in all of them. The children seemed to like him, he wondered how Eddie was going to pay for his treatment if this was what his mother was like.

"I am taking my son home." Mrs Kaspbrak sniffed, her eyes were wide and her breathing was rapid. Her fists were tense and she looked as if she could get angrier and the boys decided Frank was going to have to keep himself safe.

"Mrs Kaspbrak I am going to have to ask you to leave. I have notified Mr Bowers and he has come to collect you. You are not fit to care for your son. You need help Mrs Kaspbrak. I hope you heal soon."

Mr Bowers stepped into the room. He removed Mrs Kaspbrak from the room. The children had only seen Mr Bowers a few times and wondered if he knew about the way his son and their friends frequently harassed them? "Mrs Kaspbrak. I am taking you to a support service. You need help. You have notified us about Eddies disappearances too much and Henry tells me you have threatened Eddies life on occasion."

Mr Bowers had escorted Mrs Kaspbrak out of the room, Frank shooting them one last fleeting smile. No doubt he had to complete paperwork, follow up with Mrs Eakins about her actions and possibly document that Mrs Kaspbrak is forbidden from visiting her son until she is going to be respectful.

The four boys looked at each other in shock. It made no sense to them that Henry had tried to help them? Henry had made a report because he cared about how Eddie was being treated? They weren't sure to take this seriously. It was almost as if Henry wasn't as bad as he tried to be, perhaps he had stopped the cycle of abuse? Or maybe their relationships had improved?

"The fuck?" Richie asked.


	6. Authors Notes (Writer's block)

**Authors Notes**

I have reached my writers block and am deciding if I want to continue with this story or not.

I thought it was particularly horrible when Greta signed LOSER on the cast and decided to add my own variation to the cast signing with the children signing nice things on Eddies cast instead.

If I continue, Eddie is still going to be coming to terms with his traumatic stress, he may also have a few creepy moments with Mrs Eakins who might threaten him and his friends.

I have added two original characters who play a part in the recovery, also, Mrs Eakins is Pennywise in disguise, just so you know...

Frank can still see Mrs Eakins because Pennywise possesses her and is responsible for her nasty mood, hence why she tries to cause trouble and is cruel to the children.

Frank relates to the children a lot because he remembers what it was like to be alone and recovering through trauma.

I am thinking of having Henry redeem himself in my fiction too, Henry is a bit of a sociopath, however, aside from being controlled by Pennywise at one point he does have some redeeming qualities. For example being kinder to Bill after Georgie passed. In this fanfic Henry does not try to kill the Losers club and I wanted to add a few twists to it with unexpected friendships and a turn of event,

I am still new to fanfiction, however I would like to thank everyone for their support, encouragement and kind words.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Notes: I apologize for how long it has taken me to complete this story, I've dealt with a few personal issues the last few weeks and am now in a better place. In my fan fiction I have made Henry Bowers a redeemable character, in this fiction It never actually attempted to control Henry and Henry became more humbled after his experiences with his father, and the death of Patrick.**

"It was really weird , Henry actually encouraged his dad to do the right thing by Eddie and had made claims that she was unfit to look after her Eds." Richie informed the rest of the group, Eddie was to be released this afternoon and had decided to stay with Richie.

"Henry actually gives a fuck about what happens to us? He's been abusing us all year. Him and his little gang, they have given all seven of us a hard time throughout our entire school years, hell, even outside of school they have it in for us." Ben spoke up, remembering all of the times the Bowers gang had poked fun at his weight.

"P…p..People can change." Bill spoke up this time. He has almost always the hopeful one in the group, "I…I mean it's w…w…weird but maybe Henry wants to h..help.

"Hey," a voice spoke behind them, it was Henry fucking Bowers, as if on cue. He was looking down at his shoes, the group waited for the rest of his friends to jump out and beat the shit out of them. It never happened, it was seven to one and Henry genuinely looked lost. Henry had lost his friend Patrick to the clown, perhaps that was what changed him?

"H…H…Henry? What are you d…d..doing?" Bill was glad that his last words about Henry had been kind, it was possible that he may have heard that there was something going on. Henry looked as if he was almost crying, and this side of Henry was something none of the club had ever seen. "H… Henry?"

"I'm sorry. I have hurt every one of you, my whole gang has. I don't really see them anymore, they saw my Dad threaten me in front of them, they think I'm a pussy now. Patrick's gone too, I don't know why. He just went missing… Shortie, I hope you're OK."

"You're full of shit. We thought that you guys were the ones responsible for the missing kids-" Richie blurted out. He couldn't help it, his gang had made his life so hard and though they had laid off of Bill for an entire year, they had never gone easier on anyone else regardless of their situation.

"Beep Beep Richie! Just, no. I think he means it." Stan spoke, he looked into the eyes of the bully who had persecuted him all of these years for being Jewish. Stan had suffered hate crimes and bullying at the hands of Bowers and his gang. "It's alright. We know that your father can be… scary sometimes. Thanks for coming out here."

"I keep seeing this fucking clown too. He' always at a distance, smiling and waving at me.I'm not sure whats happening to me, sometimes I think I still see Patrick around, only he's all mangled and bloody." Henry wiped snot off of his nose. The others were still not sure what to make of Henry, such vulnerability was rare for him and they had never seen Henry remotely upset before.

"Sorry about Patrick, he was a good friend to you. I hope you're ok Henry, you're really brave to tell us these things and to apologize." Mike said now, Mike had seemed to have had the worst of some of the bullying due to his skin colour and home schooling. Mike offered his hand to shake and Henry took it, no jokes, no prank, no spit, nothing.

"Thanks Mike, I'm sorry for all of the times I beat you up, yelled abuse at you and god… I wish you'd actually hate me Mike." Henry said this earnestly, the club decided that he probably needed help, but they had to thank him for his unexpected efforts.

"Y'know, you're not so bad after all Henry. Thanks for getting your Dad to take Eddies mum away and for getting her the help she needs." Bev spoke. "It's nice to see the real you too, you're welcome to hang out with us, as long as you don't be a dick ,k?" Henry smiled slightly and shook his head. He signed Eddies cast with his initials "HB" and felt pleased that the smaller boy didn't even flinch.

Henry left, leaving the children dumbfounded. The unexpected nature of the situation and Henrys confession had left them all reeling, could he really be trusted or was this all a joke? They really didn't know. They were about to debrief about the situation when Mrs Eakins came into the room holding a nasty looking syringe.

"Time for your shots, kids. It's time to flooooooaaaaat."

The children froze up in horror, Eddies face went pale white as he saw the nurses eyes turn a golden yellow, that familiar yellow colour.

"Fuck you!" Eds shouted, he reached across the bed with his bandaged up arm and grabbed a glass cup and practically pelted it into Its face.

"I really hate this fucking clown!" Richie screamed as he launched himself at the clown, luckily It was still in the form of Mrs Eakins who had a smaller build and was easier to tackle as opposed to the full form of It who towered over all of the children. Richie launched himself over It, punching the hell out of the clown who had took on the form of Eddie, a dead Eddie that was giggling at Richie and spewing blood.

"Kiiiiiss me Richieeeeeeee." It made puckering noises at Richie as 'Eddie' spat out blood all over Richies face as it laughed and Richie screamed. Bill went to kick It in the head, It took on Georgies voice now. "You just kicked me Billy, why would you do that? Why did you let me out into the street that night…B..B..Billy?…I died slowly and painfully and you're going to diiiiieeee" It laughed as It realized that it had struck a raw nerve for Billy, the boy was too easy to get a reaction from.

"Richie…. Did you know that I almost got to kiss Eds before you? Did you know that I got to break his arm and feast on his other? I almost killed Eds and that he would have spent an eternity with me, suffering and screaming in eternal torment. I am going to take him from you again and-''

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Richie punched the hellspawn so hard down Its throat that the face in front of him was no longer Eds but the clown, It made a strange whimper as it materialized into the hospital floor leaving a stain of grimy dark coloured blood where Its head had been.

Richie was sobbing on the ground, none of it was real but the words had been. It had almost killed Eddie, It had hurt Eddie and tortured him physically and psychologically and it was almost too late. He felt guilt for Billy, they had tried so hard to find Georgie to no avail, there was a reason It always took on Georgies appearance when It was tormenting Bill, because Bill was still healing. Bill had the closure of his brothers death, but he still missed him every day and Richie could have missed Eddie every day.

"Richie? I'm here. I'm alive because of you." Eds spoke, he sat up from the bed and went against the wishes of the nurses and the protocol as he unhooked himself from the machines and sat beside his friends. "I'm glad that It took me, I came back stronger and tonight, we get to cuddle and things will work out. Richie.. I love you."

The rest of the Losers Club could only embrace the two boys curled up together on the hospital floor over what remained of It. They weren't sure if they had killed It or if It had gone into hiding again and was only buying some time. The dirty substance reminded them that the threat of It was real but that wasn't a concern. They were stronger together, they always were and always will be.


End file.
